Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

BRINSLEY SCHWARZ

UK pop group formed from remnants of Kippington Lodge, who made flop singles for Parlophone late '60s incl. 'Shy Boy', 'Rumours', 'In My Life'. Lineup: Brinsley Schwarz, guitar, sax; Nick Lowe, bass, vocals; Barry Landerman, keyboards; Pete Whale, drums; the last two replaced by Bob Andrews (b 20 June '49) and Billy Rankin when the band signed to United Artists and management company Famepushers, whose grandiose scheme, flying a planeload of journalists to NYC to watch them at Fillmore East, became a legendary logistical disaster and led to adverse publicity. They carried on Despite It All, as '70 follow-up to eponymous debut was called. Harmonies infl. by Crosby, Stills and Nash gave way to country flavour, then a chunkier sound and New Orleans feeling; the sound thickened from '72's Silver Pistol onwards by addition of Ian Gomm (b 17 March '47, London) on second guitar. Chose to play London pub circuit, perhaps because of early over-exposure; thus no albums became big sellers: Nervous On The Road '72, Please Don't Ever Change '73 followed by last LP New Favourites '74, which introduced them to Dave Edmunds, who used them as house band for film Stardust, later linked with Lowe in Rockpile. Members sessioned widely, backing Frankie Miller and others as a band; Andrews and Schwarz added freelance saxes to Dr Feelgood, Kursaal Flyers etc. Split Feb. '75; Schwarz and Rankin joined pub-rockers Ducks Deluxe in their final months; Lowe became house prod. at Stiff; Andrews became prod. at Stiff after leaving the Rumour, in which he'd backed Graham Parker with Schwarz and others since '75; Gomm released three low-key but likeable LPs on Albion and had one-off no. 18 single in USA '79 ('Hold On' on Stiff), played live dates fronting Joe Jackson's band late '70s, then concentrated on songwriting: co-wrote Lowe's 'Cruel To Be Kind', a transatlantic hit '79. Unfashionable in their lifetime, like Ducks Deluxe, Kilburn and the High Roads etc Brinsley were latterly famed for activity of members in late-'70s new wave; albums were later sought after by collectors.